Shoe tree



SHOE TREE Filed Febplo, 1945 Patented Oct. 15, 1,946

sHoE TREE Albert F. Levaggi, Brockton, Mass., assignor to Robert Channing Company, East Bridgewater, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 10, 1945, Serial No. 577,179

3 Claims.

My present invention relates to adjustable shoe trees and particularly to adjustable connections between the fore and rear parts of shoe trees or the like.

The general objectives of" my invention are to provide a shoe tree, the adjustable connection between the fore and rear parts of which is simple in construction, attractive in appearance, and has a wide range of adjustments that may be readily established Whether or not the shoe tree is operatively postioned in a shoe.

Shoe trees in accordance with my invention consist of fore and rear parts interconnected by means comprising a threaded element connected to the rear part, a member connected to the fore part slidably receiving the end of the element and supporting a nut in a position to be threaded on the element. When the nut is threaded on the element, the interconnecting means are assembled and by its rotation in one direction or the other the shoe tree may be readily extended or shortcned.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown an illustrative embodiment of my invention from which its novel features and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partly sectioned side View of a shoe tree in accordance with my invention with the device connecting the fore and rear parts being partly broken away, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of my connecting device along the lines 2 2 of Fig. 1.

In accordance with my invention, I utilize a threaded element 5 adapted to be connected to the rear part 6 and a member l adapted to be connected to the fore part il.

The member 'i slidably receives the threaded element 5 and supports a manually engageable nut 9 in a position to be threaded on the element 5 to interconnect the element 5 and the member 'i to assemble the shoe tree and to provide means whereby it may be readily extended or shortened as desired.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing, I have shown the fore part 8 sloted as at i0 through its rear and bottom faces. The front end of the member 1 extends into the slot iii with its iront edge substantially in vertical alinement with the upper edge of the slot l and is pivotally mounted therein by the pivot pin Il.` The rear part 6 is slotted to establish a chamber l2 open along the botom and iront faces of the rear part and the threaded element is pivotally mounted in the chamber l2 by the pivot pin I3.

` The chamber I2 is formed to establish a shoulder i4 disposed to bear against the rear end oi the member 1 when the shoe tree is in its operative position shown in Fig. 1. The rear end ci the rear part 6 is curved as at l5 for proper contact with the back part of the shoe and the heel part tapers upwardly and forwardly to provide a manually engageable portion I6 by which the rear part 6 may be pivoted so that it and the connecting means, the element 5 and the member i, act as a toggle to extend the shoe tree into its operative position or to shorten the shoe tree so that it may be readily inserted into or Withdravm from a shoe.

The slotting of the shoe tree parts t and 8 has the additional function of providing maximum ventilation of the shoe when the shoe tree is operatively positioned therein and also of permitting the fore part to be pivoted relative to the connecting means to make the shoe tree compact.

In its preferred form, the member 'l is in the form of a metal tube of generally rectangular section. It is wide enough to receive the threaded element 5 which is preferably ilattened on at least one side as at Il to be held by the member 'i against rotation relative thereto. It is deep enough to permit it to be slotted as at i8 to permit the support of a nut 9 of a suiciently large size to facilitate its manual rotation. The member l is preferably crimped at I9 to confine the threaded element 5.

The member l is of sufficient length to extend into the chamber l2 to be engaged by the shoulder M throughout the Wide range of adjustments that my invention provides and, throughout such adjustments, the nut 9 is located forwardly of the portion IB of the rear part 6. This makes it possible to adjust Shoe trees in accordance with my invention when operatively positioned in a shoe. The member l serves as a housing and is of the width of the slots in the fore and rear parts and its ends are substantially concealed when the shoe trees are in their operative position.

Shoe trees in accordance with my invention are, accordingly, sturdy in construction, attractive in appearance, easily adjusted, and well adapted to permit of a Wide range of modifications in structure and design both in the shoe trees and in the adjustable connecting means.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shoe tree comprising a iore part having a slot through its rear face, a rear part having a Y slot establishing a chamber opening through its front and bottom faces and establishing a shoulder and connecting means for said fore and rear parts, said connecting means comprising a threaded element pivotally connected at one end to said rear part within said chamber, a member pivotally connected at one end to said forepart Within said slot, said member slidably supporting the other end of said element and having a slot intersecting the path of said element, and a nut in said slot threaded on said element to permit said device to be extended or shortened to eiect the desired adjustment of the shoe tree, said rear ALBERT F. LEVAGGI. 

